Whether planning to build a new feed processing facility or remodeling or upgrading an existing facility, many things must be considered, like:

Ease of operation , material handling & flow:

Plant layout design plays an important part in the design and engineering phases of any industrial facility. Ease of operation; avoiding disturbance in material flow i.e. raw material & finish goods, sufficient  space for turning of vehicles , space for movement of fire fighting vehicle, parking , other utilities like

• Weighbridge: near main gate & security –with straight approach access; unloading and waiting areas for truck ;
• Boiler: height & location of chimney as per government norms ,should be at a distance from living , office area and inflammable products, storage space for fuel as per density – wood , oil & husk,
• Machinery: Select the location of machinery in such a way; that there should be sufficient distance between the dust control equipment’s and nearby residential area. Select the location of blower duct outlet opposite to the nearby residential area.  
• Store: Select the location of store and daily need equipment’s as per the process flow and ease of operation.
• Rodent proof construction: Rats and mice cause serious damage to all kinds of grains if they are allowed access to them. As rodents cannot crawl upside down; so a 2 feet extended platform above 3 feet plinth level helps to prevent rodents in feed mill.
• Electric Transformer:  should near the mail line & security.

Size of raw material warehouse as per inventory required & Project running capacity:

Flat storage area instead of bulk silos required more ground area. So, size of warehouse shed should match the project capacity and raw material storage. Practically 1 MT of material requires 5-6 square feet of area at 15 feet stacking height on maize density.

For example:  if we have to store raw material stock for 2 months and our daily production is around 100 MT  we need ; 100 x 25 days x 2 = 5000 MT of storage for 5000 MT storage on maize density we need minimum space of 28,000 – 30,000 square feet .

Provision for future expansion:

Selecting layout with no room for expansion is a mistake. Even with the best planning, most successful plants will make changes in future years that could not have been foreseen. Therefore, it is wise to allocate some area of the site for future growth and expansion.  And always select the location of feed mill in such a way that there should be space for expansion towards the raw material godown (In direction of chain conveyor). Also provision can be kept for bulk silos.

Availability of water , electricity , labour and other resources:

Water is necessary for boilers, toilets and fire protection. However, if it is not available from utility, a well on the property may be necessary. In this case, underground water availability will need to be investigated. Sometimes both sources are used in the same plant.
A public sanitary sewage connection is desirable, but properly installed septic tanks and drain fields work very well in remote areas.

Rain water harvesting points

Rain water harvesting & conservation, is the activity of direct collection of rain water. The conservation of rain water so collected can be stores for direct use or can be re-charged into ground water. The main goal is to minimize flow of rain water through drains to the rivers without making any use of the same. Hence, it’s a wise decision to keep the provision for soil water harvesting points while designing a shed.

Human safety & firefighting:

• Roads should be provided in a symmetric manner to serve all areas requiring access for the operation, maintenance and firefighting. At least two approaches/exits should be provided for each operating area. Fire control room should be earmarked / located in non-operating area, Fire control room may be in the security room/administrative building.
• High Tension (HT) line and HT sub-station(s) shall be terminated / located outside the operating area.
• Plant elevation should be higher than the outside boundary surroundings and approach roads inside the plant area should be on higher ground to avoid flooding

The above information is based on data collected from our existing customers & internet sources and is only for your reference. As expertise in feed mill engineering only, lark engineering will not be responsible for any type of loss occur due to above stated information.